The Owls rallied to down the Aggies 5-4 in College Station on April 17.

At Rice -- 2014: Conference USA All-Tournament team; One of only two Owls to start all 62 games... Split starts equally between second base (31 times, all in the first half of the season), then shortstop (31 times in the second half)... Team's record was an identical 21-10 with him starting at both middle infield spots... Finished fifth among the C-USA league leaders in defensive assists (172)... Tied for eighth in the conference in total plate appearances (271), and was eleventh in at bats (236)... Usually batted eighth in the lineup (25 times), but also batted lead-off 11 times where the team was 7-4...Managed to reach base at a .389 pace when leading off an inning... Batted .293 in C-USA league games and stepped-up to hit .357 (10-of-28) in the Owls' eight-game postseason-run... Finished the year with a five-game hitting streak, the hottest on the team at season's end... Maintained a season-best eight-game hitting streak, and reached base in nine-consecutive games, in mid-March... Collected two or more hits in a game 13 times, including a season-high four hits twice (vs. Florida International and Purdue)... Four hits in the finale at FIU raised his season average to its highest point all year (.291)... Drove-in a career-high four runs in the four-hit finale vs. Purdue, one of six multi-RBI days... Tied a career-high with eight at bats in the 17-inning marathon vs. eventual NCAA Tournament participant Old Dominion... Hit a one-out single in the bottom of the 17th, then scored the game-winning run from second base two batters later... Scored two or more runs in a game five times, including opening day at nationally-ranked Stanford and a career-high tying three at FIU... Tied for fourth in walks (21) and was hit by a pitch four times to help contribute to a .325 on-base percentage... Also finished fourth on the team with ten total sacrifices (six sac bunts and four sac flies)... Proved to be one of the best defensive middle infielders in the conference, maintaining .972 fielding percentage with 172 assists... Tied a career-high eight assists (as a shortstop) in the key C-USA victory over second place UAB... Twice had seven assists (as a second baseman), in games against eventual College World Series participant TCU and NCAA Tournament foe Sam Houston State... Turned or started 31 of the team's 48 double plays... 2013: All-Conference USA (second team, infielder); All-Silver Glove Series for series vs. Houston; C-USA Academic Honor Roll; One of three Owls to play all 64 games, but the only one start every game... Only Owl since 2006 to play every defensive inning of a season at his position (shortstop)... Finished second among the NCAA leaders in defensive assists (221)... Averaged 3.45 assists per game... Twice recorded a career-high eight assists in a single game... Started or turned 47 of the team's 73 double plays... Solid defense was only part of the story as he was also the C-USA leader in hits (81), at bats (275) and total plate appearances (310)... Managed to each base in each of the team's final 47 games from March 12 (game two vs La Tech) until the end of the season... Finished third on the team in steals (6), fourth in batting average (.295), walks (27) and total bases (90)... Tied for fourth on the squad in doubles (9)... Made 52 starts batting in the top three spots in the order... Batted leadoff a total of 16 times, including each of the last 15 games of the season where he hit .292 to help the team go 12-3... Most starts were batting second - 25 times where he hit a composite .308 and the team went 18-7... Hit ninth in the order six times where he went 10-for-16 (.526), maintained a .609 on-base percentage and scored six runs... Posted the second-best batting average on the team at the NCAA Regional (.333), in 24 C-USA league games (.344) and in 32 games played away from Reckling Park (.324)... Collected a career-best five hits in a road game at future C-USA foe FIU, the most by an Owl in any game all year that raised his average to a season-best .306... Career-best hitting streak was in each of the last 11 games of the regular season... Ended the year with an active nine-game hitting streak in the postseason to give him base hits in 20 of the Owls' last 21 games... Third on the team in multi-hit games, 22 times including three more hits four times... One two-hit game was a pair of doubles in the extra-inning win over state foe Stephen F. Austin... Scored two or more runs in a game four times, one of which was the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning in the championship final of the C-USA tournament... Drove in two or runs in a game six times, highlighted by a pair of career-high three-RBI games against Harvard and FIU... Proved to be capable of delivering the clutch RBI late in games, like his game-winning run in the 17th inning at Hawaii, and the game-winner in bottom of the ninth ten days later against Pac-12 power California... Fielding percentage (.970) was a 38-point improvement from freshman campaign, and the best by the program's regular shortstop since (eventual) major leaguer Paul Janish in 2004 (.983)... Career-high six put outs was in the finale of the Hawaii series (and not the 17-inning game)... Finished second in the nation in assists and, for the record, had one game without recording any assists (the first meeting against Oregon in the NCAA Regional)... 2012: Conference USA All-Freshman; C-USA Hitter of the Week (May 14); C-USA Academic Honor Roll; All-Silver Glove Series team for his play in the annual season-long series against crosstown rival Houston; Registered 47 appearances with 36 starts in first season of Division I baseball... Made 35 starts at shortstop and one at second base... Played primarily as a reserve in the first 29 games (10 starts) but worked his way into starting 26 of the next 31... Started at shortstop in each of the last 15 games where he batted .321 to raise his season average 22 points to its final .289... Strong second half took its toll mainly on C-USA opponents, where he batted an eye-opening .368 with a .476 on-base average in 21 league games... Hit a team-leading .348 in 66 at bats against elite opponents that went on to play in the NCAA Tournament... Disciplined approach helped him finish third on the team in on-base percentage (.411) and fourth in walks (30) despite being only ninth in at bats (142)... Drew two walks in a game eight different times... Finished second on the team in games batting leadoff, where he hit .329 to help the Owls go 13-6... Collected two or more hits in a game 11 times, including a career-high four hits in games against Texas A&M, Houston and UAB... Was sixth on the team in runs scored (30)... Scored two or more runs six times, with a career-high three in a win over UAB... Batted a steady .347 with runners on base and .341 with men in scoring position... Drove-in 17 runs and had two RBI in a game on three occasions... Appeared as a pinch-hitter six times where he went 2-for-4 with a pair of walks... Maintained a .933 fielding percentage... Turned or started 18 of the Owls' 36 double plays... Tallied a career-high five defensive assists against Houston... Made four put outs three different times... Played for the Haymarket Senators in the Valley League over the summer.

High School -- A 2011 graduate of Highland Park High School in Dallas... Selected to play in the 2011 Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association all-star game... Honorable mention All-Area... Three-year starting middle-infielder and four-letterman for a Highland Park team that is annually ranked among the top 4A programs in the state... Helped lead the Scots to a 32-6 record and to the Region II quarterfinals of the 4A state tournament... Served as senior team captain for head coach Fred Oliver... Batted .412 as a junior in 2010, earning first team All-District 10-4A and helping the Scots to a 25-10 record and the bi-district finals... Played on to the Dallas Metro Scout League All-Stars in the Perfect Game tournament in Jupiter, Fla.... Versatile athlete was also a four-year letterman in tennis... Helped the Scots with three state titles in tennis with one finish as the state runner-up... Maintained a 3.92 grade point average (4.0 scale) to earn Academic All-State... Member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes... Community Service Council member... Active in a number of charitable outreach programs.

Personal -- Full name: Raiford Hammond Stainback (prefers the nickname Ford)... Born: January 19, 1993, in Dallas... Parents: Kent and Amy Stainback of Dallas... Father was a four-year golf letterman at Baylor (1978-81)... Grandfather, Bo Sexton, was a baseball and football letterman at the University of Texas (1954-57)... College: McMurtry